Customer Reviews

Teaching With Love & Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Be very careful with the advice in this book if you are a brand new and idealistic teacher. You will be drawn to the book because it is full of common sense about how we should treat other human beings, especially children. However, keep in mind that specific, explicit limits, boundaries, and structures should be established first and foremost before you start working with kids on abstract concepts like choices, decisions, problems, and fairness. If you are just beginning the teaching profession, by all means do buy this book, but first buy "The First Days of School" by the Wongs and follow that one to the letter before you begin diving into "Love and Logic." Trust me: if your only rules on the wall are from the Love and Logic list, you will be eaten alive. The Love and Logic poster I was required to hang up in my classroom includes these sentences (among others): "I will treat you with respect so you know how to treat me" and "Feel free to do anything you want as long as it doesn't cause a problem for anyone else" and "If you think I do something unfair, whisper to me 'that's not fair' and we'll talk." Those statements are excellent, but children need to be brought to an understanding of what they mean over and over and over, through clear limits that you firmly set and enforce. Do read the book, as it is an excellent reminder of the ways in which we need to respect and truly care for students, but please keep my words in mind as you decide how you will manage your classroom.

The beginning part of this book outlines the philosophy of Love and Logic in the classroom. It is presented clearly and logically. The next part deals with a step by step method of implementing in within your own classroom. The final couple chapters are written by teachers/principals who have taken this philosopy of respect and dignity into whole schools. They explain what they did and what the effects were. I have tried this approach in my own classroom and at home with my own kids (Imagine getting kids to do their chores without threats!). The results are startling! Compliance without power struggles; respect without demands; control by giving away control. You will be stunned at how easily it works, how much better of a teacher you will be, and how your kids will respond. (I even have used this when dealing with my colleagues. What fun!)It is not new; it is common sense brought to the front. It is definitely do-able! We are just beginning to adopt this approach schoolwide. I am excited to see how it works. I recommend this book highly to anyone who is frustrated and exhausted from "dealing with students and their mouths" at the end of the day!

Did lthomros read the same book the rest of us read? It actually takes more time & effort from the teacher to use Love and Logic, but it is worth it! LOGICAL consequences presented in LOVING manner helps the child maintain his/her dignity.. it's how most of us would prefer to be treated!

Below, I've taken some statements from the book. If you agree with this philosophy, you will love the book. It works for all ages. This method helps teachers to avoid POWER STRUGGLES with kids and teenagers.

The Three Rules of Love & Logic

1) People Learn from Their Own Decisions

2) Use Enforceable Limits--Provide Choices Within Limits

3) Apply Consequences with Empathy

The Love & Logic techniques:

-Put teachers back in control of the classroom

-Result in students who are internalized in their discipline rather than dependent upon external controls (THEY do the thinking!)

-Raise the level of student responsibility

-Prepare students to function effectively in a world filled with temptations, decisions, and consequences

In conjunction with reading this book, I also took part in workshops about Love and Logic that were offered at my school. The book itself, however, is easy to read and offers lots of examples and practical suggestions.

I'm in my second year of teaching fifth grade, and have been using L-and-L for about a year. I can't believe it wasn't in my college curriculum because of how simple, rational, and effective the approach is to using. You'll have more success and more fun disciplining your students than you will following any of the more-traditional methods you probably saw used when you were a student. You won't be burdened as heavily with frustrations due to power struggles and unsuccessful punishments. You should also feel pretty good about how this approach builds kids up by empowering them with choices. Furthermore, you don't have to attend a long seminar to make it work. I might sound like I've been paid to write this (and I haven't!), but it's the best buy you can make, and it's an easy, enjoyable read.

It seems to me that people either embrace Love and Logic a little too feverishly or are horrified by it because they grew up in an environment wherein adults are encouraged to bond and communicate with children and believe the L&L strategies to be harsh, cold and manipulative.
There is a happy medium between these two ways of looking at L&L. I was trained in L&L at a seminar (I'm a high school teacher) and I learned that you can sort of "sprinkle" your L&L around. No one thinks you should be this way with your kids every second of the day, but it should be used as a way to discipline children and encourage them to make their own choices. It is also a way to gain control over children, which may sound harsh and cold, but aren't adults supposed to inherently have control over children in order to keep them safe, teach them to be responsible and make their own choices? For the reviewer who finds the methods "cold," I would like to say that I am, without a doubt, a very emotional and loving person. I can see what the reviewer means, but that is something that I realized I had to get over; you cannot command respect by being ONLY a loving, caring, nice person. Sometimes you have to be that brick wall in order to help kids, because the world is full of brick walls and other obstacles that children must learn to face.

As far as putting a pet to sleep because a child forgot to feed it, that is absolutely horrific. I will at least skim the parenting version for that one, because I just can't believe that the people at L&L would condone that sort of sadistic reasoning.

Also, I was under the impression that L&L radically opposed corporal punishment, so I am confused by the reviewer who wrote that it was championed in an L&L book. I thought the whole goal of L&L was to solve problems and teach kids calmly and respectfully. I am wondering if the reviewer misunderstood something by taking it out of context.

As a teacher, I have read many books looking for ways to run my classroom and discipline my students. When I read this book, I instantly had ideas to use in my classroom. All of them have worked! It has changed my philosophy on discipline for the better. I no longer have a lot of the problems I used to and when one does arise, I don't get angry and frustrated! I'm no longer exhausted at the end of every day. I really believe I am a better teacher because I deal with my students in a respectful way but yet I am teaching them responsibility. After you read this book, you will be so excited to go into your classroom and try some of the techniques!

This book was very practical, helping a teacher to put his students in a thinking mode in dealing with discipline problems. It brings home the point that while dealing with students a teacher must show empathy and understanding, not anger and harsh words. The authors present many suggestions in how to do this, both verbally and non-verbally. Kids respond best if they know you care, and the authors give ideas in how to express caring while still maintaining control in your classroom. "To have control, you need to give some control away"... Great book, easy to read.

I felt like I needed to write my own appraisal of Teaching With Love and Logic in order to offer an opposing opinion to those opinions written by two other reviewers.
One reviewer said this book was repetitive. This is true, but for an important reason: There are only a few basic Love and Logic® principles! What Teaching With Love and Logic does is take these few principles and show the reader how to apply them in various situations, differing environments and with a range of grade levels.
Another reviewer said that this book is overwhelming. The principles of L & L are simple to understand and even easier to apply. Teaching With Love and Logic will help teachers become stress-free and find more time and energy to focus on effective and rigorous teaching.
Can you imagine a classroom full of responsible, productive, and happy students who are in control of their own behavior? It is possible! Love and Logic® works! You can have fun teaching again! Becoming a Love and Logic® teacher is the best thing you can do for yourself and for your students. Teaching With Love and Logic is a powerful resource for any teacher. Check out the other Love and Logic® books, too!

My first year of teaching middle school was painful. I had come through a college teacher ed program and done student teaching. I had learned all the different discipline techniques (give rewards, take away priviledges, etc). These weren't very applicable to middle school where we don't have the same kids all day (I see about 140 a day). I desperately needed something that would work quickly, wouldn't require a lot of charts,stickers, and paperwork, and wouldn't cost me money (like they pay me enough to buy rewards...).

This book is brilliant! It gave me specific responses and phrases to use. We complain about students not thinking before they act, not being aware of their behavior, and not doing what we tell them. This book gives you ways to get them to think, to reflect on what they are doing or are about to do and how to do it quickly so that you can go back to teaching. I wish more teachers and administrators in my school used these methods. I wish my college had recommended this book so I would have had a specific plan when I started. A dicipline plan is not a couple of rules and consequences; it is a classroom management tool that lets the teacher know how to respond in situations before they become problems.

I've read the book twice, highlighted stuff once, taken notes, am rereading it now for my 3rd year of teaching, and have loaned it and recommended it countless times. The brisk writing style with example conversations and bold face items to remember is very helpful. It is long so having a list of phrases from out of the book is helpful to keep on hand. I also recommend their website that has articles on specific topics such as homework, basic guidelines, teasing, etc.

As a side note: The original parenting book does talk about spanking but the website has an updated response that says they have changed their position. Obviously we teachers don't have the option of physical intervention so we must be more creative in our interactions with students.

Great Philosophical Approach
Great Practical Approach

The 2 often don't go hand in hand; however, in this book they do. Read this with an open mind and your ideas regarding student interactions will be challenged. On top of that, you will pick up great strategies to use as you put your ideas into practice.

Most useful outcome of their strategies - you will learn better how to create a positive classroom climate that better fosters learning. Stop battling your students. Use Love and Logic to win them over instead.